Greek debt crisis: Germans to vote on bailout after Athens violence
27 February 2015 Last updated at04:27 ET
The German vote comes after protesters took to the streets of the Greek capital
The violence marks the first display of unrest since Alexis Tsipras came to power in January
Several shops were damaged during the disorder
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble urged German legislators to approve Greece's bailout extension despite widespread scepticism inside Germany
'Keep Europe together'
Greek proposals
Greek debt crisis: Germans to vote on bailout after Athens violence
The German vote comes after protesters took to the streets of the Greek capital
The German parliament is debating a plan to extend financial aid to Greece by another four months.
The extension - approved by creditors last week in exchange for a series of Greek government reforms - needs to be ratified by Eurozone members.
Although some German MPs have expressed doubts about the deal, it is expected to be voted through easily.
It comes after police and protesters clashed during anti-government demonstrations in Athens on Thursday.
They were the first such disturbances since Greece's leftist Syriza was sworn in as the main government party exactly a month ago.
Dozens of activists hurled petrol bombs and stones at police and set cars alight after a march involving hundreds of protesters.
The proposed bailout extension has also triggered dissent within Syriza itself.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has defended it, but some on the hard left have accused the government of going back on pre-election pledges.
Syriza swept to power in January by promising to renegotiate the country's debt and end austerity.
The violence marks the first display of unrest since Alexis Tsipras came to power in JanuarySeveral shops were damaged during the disorderGerman Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble urged German legislators to approve Greece's bailout extension despite widespread scepticism inside Germany
Eurozone finance ministers on Tuesday approved a set of reform proposals submitted by Greece.
As the dominant economic power in the EU, Germany's approval is regarded as crucial.
German legislators are currently debating the motion ahead of the vote expected at about 10:45 local time (09:45 GMT).
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble spoke in favour of the deal, telling parliament: "We Germans should do everything possible to keep Europe together as much as we can."
"We're not talking about new billions for Greece... rather it's about providing or granting extra time to successfully end this programme," he insisted.
There has been a chorus of scepticism about the deal inside Germany - with Thursday's edition of the largest tabloid, Bild, emblazoned with the word "No!", adding "No more billions for the greedy Greeks!''
In a test ballot on Thursday, a clear majority of MPs from Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right CDU/CSU bloc voted in favour of extending the €240bn (£176bn; $272bn) bailout for Greece - which is currently due to run out on 28 February.
The centre-left Social Democrats, junior partners in Mrs Merkel's coalition, voted unanimously in favour.
Mrs Merkel's grand coalition has a commanding majority in the Bundestag.
German legislators feel they have no choice but to pass the vote, as a eurozone breakup could prove even more expensive than the bailouts and potentially undermine the credibility of the euro, reports the BBC's Berlin correspondent Damien McGuinness.
Debt mountain
Nevertheless some MPs have expressed concern over Greece's ability to deliver on the deal and Mr Schaeuble himself has expressed doubt about the Greek government's commitments to reform.
Hawkish elements within Mrs Merkel's CDU (Christian Democratic Union) and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU (Christian Social Union), have portrayed the extension deal as leniency for Greece.
Meanwhile, even if the bailout extension goes through Greece still faces the formidable task of trying to service its debt obligations.
It will need to flesh out its reform programme in detail by April and prove that reforms are bedding in before receiving a final disbursement of 7.2bn euros.
But in the meantime Greece has to repay several billion euros in maturing debts, including about 2bn euros to the IMF in March, and 6.7bn in European Central Bank bonds maturing in July and August.
- Combat tax evasion
- Tackle corruption
- Commit not to roll back already introduced privatisations, but review privatisations not yet implemented
- Introduce collective bargaining, stopping short of raising the minimum wage immediately
- Tackle Greece's "humanitarian crisis" with housing guarantees and free medical care for the uninsured unemployed, with no overall public spending increase
- Reform public sector wages to avoid further wage cuts, without increasing overall wage bill
- Achieve pensions savings by consolidating funds and eliminating incentives for early retirement - not cutting payments
- Reduce the number of ministries from 16 to 10, cutting special advisers and fringe benefits for officials
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